Gaza police catch crocodile

Nov. 7, 2012

Sakher the crocodile has been caught after two years on the lam. / AP

Written by

Diaa Hadid

Associated Press

BEIT LAHIYA, GAZA STRIP — It took an Internet search, shark nets and two weeks of floating in a sewage pond, but Gaza policemen said Tuesday that they have finally captured a crocodile that was terrifying residents.

The 5-feet-9-inch crocodile fled his zoo enclosure two years ago and crawled about half a mile to a large sewage pit near the northern Gaza Strip town of Umm al-Naser, said Lt. Col. Samih al-Sultan, who led the hunt.

“He had a lot of spirit in him. He wanted to be free,” al-Sultan said.